Mays School Sponsor to Talk Independent Business, Local Economy

COLLEGE STATION - Steve Bercu, 30-year president of BookPeople, an independent Austin bookstore, and founder and president of the Austin Independent Business Alliance, will speak in College Station October 2 on sustaining locally owned businesses in a competitive marketplace.

The Brazos Independent Business Alliance and the Texas A&M University Mays Business School invited Bercu to educate local consumers about the powerful economic stimulus generated by locally owned independent businesses and to educate locally owned independent business owners about the power of the Brazos brand and cooperative marketing.

Bercu has a bachelor's in history from the University of Texas, a master's in International Relations from the International College in Copenhagen, and a juris doctorate from the University of Texas School of Law.

Today Bercu is a leader in his industry, lauded for his practical and ground-breaking approaches to business development. Bercu has been at the forefront of the national grassroots movement in support of locally owned businesses.

Hugh Stearns, president of the Brazos Independent Business Alliance, considers Bercu a true maverick.

"Steve Bercu has helped engineer a paradigm shift in the perspective of the relationships between community and business," said Stearns.

The Brazos Independent Business Alliance is an organization of community members throughout the Brazos Valley who seek to promote and protect the area's locally owned independent businesses, noting that these businesses reflect the invaluable character of our community and are vital to the area's economic growth. The Mission of the Alliance is to build a healthy local economy by providing support to locally owned independent businesses and educating the community on the value of patronizing those businesses. The alliance maintains a directory of its members and other Brazos Valley locally owned independent businesses at BuyBrazos.com.

Stearns said, "The Brazos Independent Business Alliance and BuyBrazos.com are helping to nourish a stronger sense of place for the Brazos Valley in ways that help build our quality of life and attract tourism to our area. There is no better economic stimulus for our local economy than supporting locally owned independent businesses who return up to three times the amount of revenue to the local economy."

Texas A&M University's Mays Business School educates 4,800 undergraduate, master's and doctoral students in accounting, finance, information and operations management, management and marketing. Mays' offers a dynamic learning environment for faculty and students, featuring interactive teaching tools, wireless Internet throughout the building and multiple computer labs. Mays' mission is to create knowledge and develop future ethical business leaders for a global society.

The presentation will be held at 7:00 p.m. in Texas A&M's Wehner Building, room 161. This free event is open to the public and all community members are encouraged to attend.

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